Festival of Hearts
by Maho Pixy Kyura
Summary: A fanfic following the story of the breeder Tara and her assistant Miki. Don't forget Alcina, too! The adventures and romances of the world of monster battle, as told by Tara Verenne. I think the title's permanant this time ;)
1. Ch 1 Wings Unfurl

Tara is my Monster Rancher persona. I use the name Tara on almost all my Monster Rancher games. But in my mind Tara began to develop, and I've been wanting to make her a full-fledged character, and one day inspiriation just hit. So tada! Her own action/adventure/romance story :). But it's Miki's story too of course. Random original character w00t! Definitely can't forget her.

Disclaimer: Monster Rancher belongs to Tecmo. All the monster types belong to Tecmo. The setting this takes place in (Aura Island, starts around its year 1000) is based on the various Monster Rancher games (mostly 2) but is also drawn from my own mind. All human characters so far arecompletely my own, but maybe some of the Tecmo girls will make a guest appearance later, such as Holly, Colt, or even Fleria. That said, enjoy!

* * *

I looked around the place that I was in. It was big, and it felt ancient. The air in the room smelt of books. I walked into the next room, even larger than before, with gargantuan, glassless windows that seemed to be a portal to the outside world. This one smelt like the wind that was blowing through it as sunlight filtered in. 

I slowly walked to the desk and tried to speak. I was rather nervous and the words just would not seem to come.

The attendant smiled and said, "You would like to register as a breeder?" Her eyes were friendly as she nonchalantly brushed some hair stray from her ponytail behind her ear.

I nodded and meekly willed a small "Yes!" I waited a second. "Yes, please," I said, trying to be polite.

She giggled as if understandingly. "Okay, no problem!" She started asking me some questions. "What is your name?" she asked.

"Tara." I answered.

"You're male or female? Just making sure…" she said, smiling.

"Female." I replied with a small smile. She wrote the information I supplied down.

She handed me a clipboard with a pen. "Please answer these questions so we can determine what type of breeder you are." she said, "You can sit down over there." She motioned to some benches along a wall.

"O-okay… thank you …" I said, looking down at the first question and then walking to the bench.

I answered the questions slowly. Some of them seemed a little odd… but I kept filling them out until I was finished. I stood up and brought the clipboard and pen back to the lady at the desk.

She flipped through them quickly, removed them from the clipboard, and put them into a folder. She sat the folder on top of many others like it and put another blank test into the clipboard. "Please wait a moment, your assistant will arrive shortly!" she said cheerfully.

I swallowed. I couldn't wait for my assistant… I wasn't too anxious to get one, but being that all new breeders did, I could only hope I got a friendly one. And the test… did that mandate which breeder assistant I would receive? What "sort of breeder" was I, according to the test? Would they think I was a weird person? A bad one? I was a little dizzy with all these things to consider, so I went over to the benches and sat down again. The few minutes seemed to be taking so long…

I stood up and fidgeted a bit. Suddenly, a girl appeared in the doorway and walked over to me.

"Hello! Are you the new trainer?" she asked with a cheery, energetic air.

"Yes, I'm Tara." I replied, relieved that she seemed very social and friendly.

"I'm Miki and I'll be your assistant!" she said. I looked at her a moment. She had brown hair that reached half way down her neck and two small but lengthy plaits hanging down on either side of her face, almost to her shoulders. Her eyes were a charged shade of emerald green. Her smile was wide. She wore a long, sleeveless maroon shirt and had dark brown capris and light brown sandals.

I extended my hand. "I'm Tara! Please to meet you, Miki."

She shook it. "Likewise, Tara. Shall we get to town and find our new charge?"

I grinned. "Yeah! Great idea! We should go."

Miki raised her hand and after a moment I realized she wanted a high five. I gave it to her and she exclaimed "Let's work together to raise the strongest monster!"

My mood was vastly improving. I had a nice assistant, full of energy, hyper almost. She seemed to want to work with me very much. "Let's go!" I said, the mood catching, and led the way out into the street.

We stopped in the street and looked around. The ground we stood on was made of cobblestones. They looked as if they were made of light bricks and grout that was gray-white. There were lots of buildings, shops of many sorts- clothing, food, specialty items, carpentry- there was also a large building on the corner made of dark green stone with a large sign atop the door which read in curly, calligraphy-style letters, "SHRINE". That was, of course, where we were headed.

But in the center of the town was the number one attraction, and the biggest building on the whole island. The coliseum- the place where the monsters that trainers like me so painstakingly raise duke it out to see whose efforts will pay off the most. Money, pride, fame, worth… all gained, proved, sometimes lost right here in this monstrous building.

We walked slowly to the shrine. All the while I was looking around. I hadn't been in this city for very long. I definitely wasn't used to big ones, having grown up fairly close to what was considered the 'boonies' of Aura Island. However this city, Acorsa, was one of the largest on the island, located in the central part of it. This was where many breeders started out.

Miki and I entered the shrine building and immediately felt a change. It was darker in here and there was an odd feeling hanging about, sort of refreshing, yet solemn. The room we were in was just a lobby sort of thing, furnished with only a desk-like stone altar, etched with complicated designs, and some small lamps on the wall, and there were two curtained doorways leading into what must've been the actual shrine. The man behind the altar raised a hand slightly in greeting.

"Welcome, I am Brii," he said in a calm voice. He had dark brown hair and eyes that seemed oddly stern, even though he looked young. "Would you like to revive a monster?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes, my assistant and I would like to use a disk stone," I said as I swallowed the vast nervousness I had suddenly developed for some odd reason.

He stood and opened one of the curtains, beckoning with his hands. "Go through either of these doors."

Miki and I followed and looked around the shrine. It was larger than the other room, at least twice the size. It was completely stone. In each of its four corners were posts decorated with different monsters, but they all had one thing in common. All the posts were topped with carefully carved Phoenixes, lamps sitting on top of them, casting a dim glow upon the dimensions of the chamber. Near the back wall, dead center between two of the posts, was a stone podium with an intricate design of a disk with a lizard on it. On its flat top was a circular indent, just the right size for a disk stone.

Those weren't the only things with designs on them, though- almost every inch of everything but the walls was covered in designs, and the walls had a large horizontal strip running through their middle into which they were carved. They depicted monsters, many kinds, doing many things. There were humans too, sometimes working with the monsters, sometimes oppressing them, sometimes being oppressed.

"Which disk are you using?" Brii asked.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, and my hand shot into my bag. There were many disk stones within it which I had gathered on my travels or inherited from my father who had passed away recently. I closed my eyes and rummaged until I found the one which felt right within my fingers, and selected it only when I was sure that I felt good about it. I slowly took it out. "This one," I said solemnly. "I will use this disk stone."

"Walk to the altar, place in your stone, and wait for the monster to be born," he said, smiling warmly. It was an expression I hadn't expected to see on his face, but I liked it. He and Miki backed up and I walked to the altar.

I closed my eyes. "This is the moment… the moment of a miracle… a monster's birth," I whispered. I lay the disk stone into the groove meant only for it. I began to hear a small sound and opened my eyes to see the disk spinning, slowly at first, but more and more rapidly until it was a blur of motion. The lamps flared up in a blaze. A white light formed in the center of the room, just a large spinning ball at first, but soon it began to take form.

"A-amazing!" I breathed, my eyes sparkling, glowing with the divine light. It rippled and began to resemble… 'A human!' I thought for a moment.

Ah, but it was not done. Wings, tail, horns- soon I knew what I would soon see and smiled at my first reaction. I should have known already. The light became a light rainbow of pastel colors and then disappeared, and in the center of the room she stood- a Pixie.

"Mmm…" she said, a bit of a yawn, as she floated about half a foot from the ground, gently fluttering her bat-like wings. She stretched and looked at me expectantly.

I smiled. "She's so awesome!" I said.

"Huhh..?" said the Pixie, smiling. "Awe…some? WAI!"

Brii smiled and shook his head. "What an… interesting monster,"

I stuck my tongue out at him playfully. "I love Pixies! They're great monsters!" She stuck her tongue out too, and flew beside me.

"I do too! So, what shall we name her?" said Miki, walking over beside the Pixie and I.

"Hmm," I mused, looking at her. "Give me a few moments. Naming is something really important! Isn't that right? Don't you want a good, suitable name?" I said.

The Pixie nodded. "A good name," she said simply, and looked at me as if begging for one.

I stared back at her. What to call her, what to call her? "I think… that I shall call you... well, let's see… Alcina." I said slowly, debating with myself.

"You're sure?" asked Miki. "Alcina?"

I looked to the Pixie. "Do you like Alcina?"

She nodded slowly. "Alcina… she likes Alcina. Or… _Alcina_ likes Alcina!" said the Pixie, apparently consent with her new name.

Miki grinned. "I think it's suiting," she said. With that she walked over to Brii who fetched her a piece of paper and a pen. I walked over and looked over her shoulder to see what it was.

She glanced back. "Oh, I'm just filling out its registration form. We have to register it with MAIA, or Monsters of Aura Island Agency," she told me, "So that's A-L-C-I-N-A?" I nodded to her and waited for her to finish. It should have occurred to me what she was doing. I may have been a newbie, but I of course knew what MAIA was. Anyone who didn't know his or her island's monster association was pretty out of it.

"Ok!" said Brii when she handed him the paper, "Tara, I just need your signature here."

"Okee," I said, signing the paper he held up. "Taaaraaa…" I said in a drawn out way as I scribbled my name.

He took it and stood back for a moment, hands on his hips, observing me. "What?" I asked.

"You _are _a weird one," he laughed, then began to walk back to his desk.

Miki stuck her tongue out at him. "Play nice, Brii!"

"I'm just saying," he said, shrugging, as he reached the doorway. He paused for a moment, long enough to say "Good luck, was it Tara? And Miki as well," We followed, waved at him, and exited the building, Alcina trailing about half a foot behind.

I was just about to say something when Alcina stuck her head between mine and Miki's, one of her arms on each of our shoulders. "So… when do we _eat?_"

I burst out laughing. "Just like a true Pixie, Alcina. Just like a true Pixie," I giggled.

Miki grinned. "So you're the bottomless pit type, eh?" she teased. She prodded Alcina in the side. "Now don't go getting fat now! You don't want a tummy!"

Alcina stuck her tongue out at us but playfully. "Quit teasing! Alcina is hungry, she was just born! She was in that disk for a long, long time you know," she replied.

"Oh, shush," I said, managing to stop laughing. "There'll be food at the ranch. Then my face went gray. "OH my GOSH! I completely forgot about arranging us a ranch! Oh, Tara, you've done it again! You DITZ!"

Now it was Alcina's and Miki's turn to giggle uncontrollably. "Just like a true Tara!" gasped Miki between laughs.

"Hey, you just met me!" I replied, looking at the two holding their guts, almost in tears.

Alcina suddenly stopped and looked at me with slight disbelief, her posture going limp as she hung in the air. "So… Alcina has no place to live?" she asked in a monotonic voice.

I gulped. "Well…" my voice trailed off.

Miki got her laughing under control, raised a hand, and spoke. "Don't worry Tara. I know where we can get us a place, a pretty nice one."

I sighed with relief. "Oh, thank the stars. How much will it set us back?"

"The thing is," started Miki, "it's my aunt who owns the place. She'll let us use it for free."

My eyes widened. "Free! She'd do that?"

"I said, she's my aunt," said Miki with a grin. "It's fine. We're cool like that."

Alcina threw her fist into the air and exclaimed, "Alright! A home! And FOOD!" Again, Miki and I were in sidesplitting laughter. On a happy note, we set off for our new home.


	2. Ch 2 Tail Uncurls

"It's not very far out of the city, but it's more comfortable of a distance to ride than walk," said Miki. She cast a look to Alcina and pointed at her with her thumb. "Plus, we got a Pixie on our hands," she added playfully. I nodded with a smile. Most Pixies I'd met were under no circumstances willing to walk long distances without a chance of reward.

We caught a cab drawn by a slim, speedy Jelly Saurian and began to travel down a dirt road which had been trampled hard and smooth by many feet. A dusty sign at its start read in large red letters "Opaline Road". On either side it was flanked with forest trees and shrubs.

Miki smiled as I looked around. "That's the Opaline Forest." she remarked, "It's a really pretty place. Kind of dangerous though, since there are some wild monsters on the prowl."

I gulped. "Wild monsters? Are they that bad?" I asked, laughing nervously.

"Oh, don't be a worrywart, we'll be fine. There are very few there, really. And I'm sure that eventually Alcina will be able to deck 'em good," she said, reassuring me.

After about 20 minutes, Miki motioned to the driver to stop. I went for my wallet but Miki smiled and said, "No worries, it's just a cab fee. I can handle it." I was about to protest, but she'd already made the payment and I sighed under my breath. She told the cabbie "Please stick around. This won't be long. We'll need you again real quick afterwards, ok?" and he nodded in agreement.

I surveyed the new surroundings. Miki began walking up a stone path and I followed her, observing the beautiful house as I did. It was large and made of the same color brick that most of the city buildings were, but these were much smoother and more flawless. It was rather large, two stories tall, with a white gazebo poking out from one side. The windows were tinted dark cyan and had intricate white sills and black shutters. The black door was huge and had a shining doorknocker shaped like a Suezo. We walked up the marble steps and Miki knocked on the door.

A lady who looked to be in her early thirties answered the door. She was pretty and curvedly stout. Her hair was orange like the clouds in a sunset and tied up with a blue ribbon. Her modest blue dress was trimmed at sleeves, collar, and hem with lace. Her face lit up at her niece's sight. "Why, Miki! Hello there! How did you do? You passed the exam all right?" she asked excitedly.

Miki nodded vigorously. "Yes Auntie Mel! I passed it! And I even got my charge today!" she replied, her voice equally energetic.

The lady looked at me. "Oh? You're the breeder Miki's assigned to? Isn't that nice!" she said, stepping forward and shaking my hand. "I'm Miki's aunt, Melanie Saline," she said, "but you can call me Mel or Mollie if you'd like. And what might your name be?"

"Yes, and my name's Tara Verenne. Pleased to meet you Miss Melanie," I replied politely.

"Aw, there's no need for 'Miss'. Just call me Mel. No need to be formal among friends," she chastised warmly. She noticed Alcina behind me. "Ohh!" she gasped. "This is such a cute monster!" She rushed to Alcina and took her hands.

"Thank you Miss Mellie!" said Alcina happily, a wide grin on her face. She loved every second of the attention.

"By the way, can I interest you girls in anything? Lunch, tea?" asked Melanie, letting go of Alcina's hands and leaning against the doorway.

Miki shook her head. "We have a cabbie waiting," she said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. "We'll come back really soon if you want, but we wanted to ask you if we can use that property you've got nothing to do with. You know, the part with the really big shed? We'd like it for a ranch."

Melanie smiled. "Didn't have plans, huh?" she said, winking at me. "But of course. You girls have fun now," she said, "and visit really often!"

Miki jumped up and hugged her aunt. "Thank you, thank you, Auntie Mel!"

My face was absolutely beaming. "I can't thank you enough, Mel!"

Melanie waved at me and said "It's really no problem. It's just sitting there stagnantly. Now don't you think you should let your cabbie do his business?"

Miki's eyes went wide. "Oh! Yeah!" she exclaimed, "Bye Auntie!" I waved, and we rushed back. The cabbie looked just a little impatient.

"Sorry we were so long," I said, my face a pitiful picture.

He sighed and said "It's alright. Business's kinna slow anyway," and shrugged. The three of us piled into the cart as he mounted his Saurian and we zipped off. Apparently he'd taken Miki there before, as he got us there without any need of direction. Again, Miki paid before I had any chance, and then the cabbie left.

"Hey, you seemed to know those two guys. You know, Brii and that cabbie?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah, I know them pretty well. We're around the same age, although they're a couple years older. I don't know Kin, the cabbie, as well as I do Brii though," she replied. She started walking down a little dirt path and I followed, Alcina floating a little behind us and listening inquisitively to our conversation.

I smiled a little. "That's nice." I said, "I of course don't know anyone from around here."

Miki's face became inquisitive and she said, "Oh yeah, I meant to ask you. Where're you from, Tara?"

"Oh," I started, my face going a little red, "pretty far from here. I doubt you've heard of it- a place called Idesia? It's in the Pomme region."

She looked thoughtful for a moment but then her face lit up. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I've heard of that place. There's a cup there in the summer, correct?"

I nodded and said, "Yep. Pride and joy of that little place." A smile spread across my face. For people in Acorsa to recognize immediately the name of little Ides, as its inhabitants affectionately called it, would make some of its citizens swell with pride.

Miki smiled too. "We have to enter it Tara!" she said.

"It would be nice going back there for a while," I agreed.

Alcina blinked. "So many places you know," she said simply but with awe. "Tara and Miki must be smart." We giggled at the compliment and thanked her.

Miki stopped suddenly and spread her arms wide. "Tada! Here's our new home."

I looked around. "Wow…" I said, my voice trailing off. The place was huge and stretching. We had walked through a gate in a stone wall which surrounded the land apparently on all sides, though the back wall could not be seen. For quite a ways the land was flat, then it rose into small hills. There was a big albeit worn-looking shed and numerous other things to describe.

Miki grinned, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Like it?" she asked. "The truth is," she continued, "Auntie Mel used this as a ranch when _she_ was a little girl. And I've grown up playing here too. See all that weird stuff over that way? That's to train with. It's all really old, sorry to say, but I'm sure it would still work."

"I like it. I really, really like it. I think it's perfect!" I exclaimed. I turned to Alcina. "And what do you think?" I asked her.

She floated over at the barn. "It looks kinda junky," she said, which caused Miki and I to smile, but I still felt a little let-down inside. Until, that is, she exclaimed "But cozy!" and dived into the hay in the shed.

Miki smiled and put a hand to the side of her head. "You know you don't have to sleep in that, Alcina. It's just in there 'cause we figured we shouldn't waste the grass mowed offa here. I can make arrangements for some nice stuff."

Alcina fluffed the straw. "Ok!" she said, definitely not passing up the chance for luxury. "But leave some in a corner. Alcina likes to play in it," she added. Then she proceeded to wiggle out of site underneath the hay. Miki and I realized the giggle attacks we were experiencing were probably going to be a part of life with Alcina.


End file.
